ASIL Awards Boyd Student International Law Fellowship
Boyd student Sarah Eremus was awarded with a 2008 American Society of International Law Helton Fellowship.
The American Society of International Law (ASIL) announced the twelve law student winners of its 2008 Helton Fellowships for projects in international law. Selected from more than 50 applicants from Africa, Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Oceania, and North and South America, the students will receive micro-grants of up to $1,500 to pursue fieldwork in or research on issues involving international law, human rights, humanitarian affairs, and related areas.
ASIL established the Helton Fellowship Program in 2004 in honor of Arthur C. Helton, an internationally renowned lawyer and advocate for protecting the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons. Helton died in the August 19, 2003, bombing of the United Nations (UN) mission in Baghdad.
Helton Fellows undertake their fellowship fieldwork and research in association with established educational institutions, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations. The following are the 2008 ASIL Helton award recipients.
Reena Arora (of Germantown, Maryland), a JD candidate at New York University School of Law. Reena’s project will focus on building the capacity of the Migrant Assistance Programme (MAP) Foundation, a leading NGO on Burmese migrant worker issues in Thailand. Reena’s goals for the MAP Foundation include instituting an international human rights framework, enhancing its capabilities for regional and international advocacy, and assisting its member workers with strategic planning on how to defend their rights.
Andrew Boyle (of Annandale, Virginia), a JD candidate at UCLA School of Law. Andrew will be working with International Bridges to Justice (an NGO that works to build fairer and more equitable criminal justice systems around the world) to strengthen their efforts to protect human rights and to provide access to justice for prisoners in Burundi. In addition to his research, Andrew will coordinate criminal defense lawyer trainings and other events to encourage discourse among actors in the Burundi criminal justice system.
Paul Kingsley Clark, a Masters candidate in Public Law at the University of Paris and LL.M graduate from McGill University. Paul’s fieldwork will support the Center for Social Development’s initiative to promote democratic values and improve the quality of life for Cambodians. His goal is to gain a greater understanding of the interactions between victims of the Khmer Rouge and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). He will be gathering evidence from victims, members of government, community leaders, and tribunal officials.
Alice Jill Edwards, a PhD candidate at Australian National University. Alice will be participating in a project with the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham on refugee women. The project commemorates the upcoming 20th anniversary of the first policy on refugee women issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Part of her research will include conducting a field visit to Uganda.
Sarah R. Eremus (of Rosemount, Pennsylvania), JD candidate at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada. Sarah will work with the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), an NGO based in Canada that provides refugee assistance to Iranian homosexuals. Her work will include reviewing and supporting petitions for refugee status to Canada and Europe as well as researching the extent to which homophobia has played a role in suppressing human rights for homosexuals in Iran.
Benedetta Faedi (of Rimini, Italy), a PhD candidate at Stanford University School of Law. In association with the Child Protection Unit of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, Benedetta will investigate the incentives and rationale for Haitian victims of rape and sexual abuse to become active in armed groups. Her study will examine the potential roles and strategies that international legal institutions could envisage for improving women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace building processes in Haiti.
Anna Gay (of Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada), an LL.M. candidate at New York University School of Law. Continuing her case studies of resettlement where relocation is based on security issues, Anna will be working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, Thailand. Anna’s research will focus on how Thailand fulfills its international obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention while selecting asylum seekers under its national resettlement policies.
Ziad Haider (of Washington, DC), a JD candidate at Georgetown University Law Center. Ziad will intern with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. His work will cover a range of governance and rule of law issues, including forced disappearances and women’s rights in Pakistan. Ziad will also support the HRCP legal staff in court proceedings and train them on conducting advocacy work in the United States.
Jennifer Ismat (of New York City, New York), a JD candidate at St. John’s University School of Law. Jennifer will be working with the Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) organization in Cairo, Egypt, this summer. Through AMERA, Jennifer will directly provide legal services to refugees in Egypt as well as work on several advocacy projects that entail the examination of refugee rights and the efficacy of international human rights in Cairo.
Patrick N. Karanja (of Nairobi, Kenya), a Bachelor of Laws graduate of Moi University. Patrick will be working with the Human Rights Education and Outreach Programme of the Kenya Human Rights Commission to advance the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education. Patrick’s main focus will be to facilitate and assist students in more than ten pilot phase schools to develop Human Rights Clubs that will serve to complement formal curriculum reforms aimed at integrating human rights education into Kenya’s school system.
Kathleen M. Leslie (of London, Ontario, Canada), a JD candidate from the University of Western Ontario School of Law. Kathleen will be working with a global team as part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Mental Health Improvement for Nations Development project in conjunction with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. Kathleen will assist in the development of the draft WHO instrument on human rights monitoring in mental health facilities and will help write a country summary describing WHO’s support in the area of mental health policy and development of law reform.
Kate Oja (of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), a JD candidate from the University of Toronto School of Law. Kate will be working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Protection Unit in Rabat, Morocco. She will be providing legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom are from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kate will also be supporting the UNHCR in promoting national refugee legislation and status determination procedures.
Helton Fellowships are administered by ASIL through its Career Development Program. For more information, including eligibility and application information, visit http://www.asil.org/abou... href="http://www.asil.org/aboutasil/heltonindex.html">l. To contribute to the Helton Fellowship fund, visit https://www.asi...
ASIL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization. It was founded in 1906, chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1950, and has held Category II Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council of the UN since 1993. ASIL’s mission is to foster the study of international law and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the basis of law and justice. The Society’s 4,000 members (from nearly 100 countries) comprise attorneys, academics, corporate counsel, judges, representatives of governments and nongovernmental organizations, international civil servants, students, and others interested in international law. For more information, visit www.asil.org.